The Digital Ethnography Initiative (DEI) was founded at the University of Vienna and is the first step towards greater visibility of ethnographic work on “the digital” at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology. It aims to establish an open space where department-based expertise, experience and research is visible to colleagues, students and the general public, thus also contributing to ongoing interdisciplinary dialogues and public engagements. Although DEI acknowledges and encourages the inherent interdisciplinary nature of digital ethnography, it also places particular attention on the in-depth understanding of historical developments within ethnography in general and its proximity to the discipline of social and cultural anthropology.

DEI is an attempt to establish a space, where longstanding anthropological interest in ethnography meets interdisciplinary dialogue. We do not only aim to engage in the discussion of what digital ethnography means across disciplinary boundaries but also to address specific issues, theories and methods. By providing an online open-access platform for sharing resources, making local expertise and research projects visible, and by organizing regular events, the initiative aims to provide orientation in a messy world of boundaries-crossing methods for researchers and students alike.

Recent Blog Posts

• Prompt by Prompt: Shaping Digital Identity by Interactions with ChatGPT
  Daria Boichenko* This blog post is a revision of a text written for the seminar “Digital Identities and Socialities” by Philipp Budka for the MA program “CREOLE – Cultural Differences and Transnational Processes” at the University of Vienna. Over the past two years, with the growing popularity of ChatGPT, I have witnessed various ways in… Read more: Prompt by Prompt: Shaping Digital Identity by Interactions with ChatGPT
• Selfies Beyond the Frame: Digital Cultures in India
  Avishek Ray* In our everyday scrolling—through Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, or Facebook—the selfie often appears as something both mundane and omnipresent. Whether taken against a scenic backdrop, filtered for aesthetic effect, snapped for bureaucratic ID verification, or shared in moments of vulnerability or joy, the selfie has moved far beyond the status of a casual photograph.… Read more: Selfies Beyond the Frame: Digital Cultures in India
• Photo-Elicitation Interviews with Image-Generating AI as Reflexive Representation Practice
  Luise Erbentraut* With smartphones becoming an integral part of how people navigate and experience their interpersonal relationships, visuality has assumed a central role. The fusion of camera and communication technology embeds images and photography as practices within personal and intimate relationships. This also includes the consensual sharing of “nudes”, which are commonly known as photographic… Read more: Photo-Elicitation Interviews with Image-Generating AI as Reflexive Representation Practice

Feel free to get in touch with us at info@digitalethnography.at

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Header photo by Daniel Gzz on Unsplash.